


Not the Same

by stelliums



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, Mild Sexual Content, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 19:24:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21104726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelliums/pseuds/stelliums
Summary: SquipJere Week prompt 3 - Upgrade (thank you to Sedusa + Kadabralin!)





	Not the Same

His head felt as if it was going to split apart. Electricity coursed through him. It was difficult to see anything; the campus seemed like it was covered by a thick black fog. “What happened?” He asked himself while he wandered around and tried to make sense of his surroundings. Jeremy then repeated, louder, “Hey, uhm, SQUIP? What happened?”

Someone pressed their finger to his lips. “Shh... don’t worry your mind about it.” They hummed in a light, smooth voice, tapping his head as one would a small, cute animal. “Just a little upgrade.”

“But nothing happened! Wait, what happened to your voice?” He questioned. He was answered by a finger underneath his chin, tilting his head up to face them. The figure behind him was dressed in white, with hair to match. Their eyes were a bright shade of blue, far brighter than most. The air around them crackled and sparked slightly. This wasn’t the SQUIP that Jeremy remembered.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“...Your SQUIP. What else?”

There was something unsettling about their appearance. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. It could just be nothing; he had gotten so used to his SQUIP appearing like a younger Keanu Reeves that he couldn’t imagine them looking like anyone or anything else.

“Can you turn back to your, uh, your default mode?” He asked. His body instinctively braced itself for a shock that didn’t come when he heard himself stammer.

“‘Course. Except this is my default mode.”

“But you told me that–“

“Did I? Oh, fine, I will, but after I show you what you can do.” They moved their fingers from under his chin and made him look straight ahead of him. The fog had cleared and he could see the other students clearly. Each of them had a box above their heads, displaying their current emotions and their current opinion of him.

“Woah... I didn’t know that you could do that.”

“You’re welcome.” They hummed. “Now, don’t be too obvious about it, but look over there.”

Brooke was alone, for once. Usually she didn’t leave Chloe’s sight. When she noticed him look towards her, she smiled brightly at him and gave him a little wave. “Jeremy! You just kinda... zoned out there. Are you okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

The SQUIP motioned to the text over her head. “Brooke Lohst. Confused. Kinda into nerds.”

“I’m not a nerd, I’m a-”

“...are you sure you’re okay? I never said you were.” Brooke raised an eyebrow, then turned to look over her shoulder. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Nerd, geek, whatever.” They shrugged, watching Brooke go back inside. “Same thing.”

Jeremy rounded on them. “You wanted me to fuck that up, didn’t you? I thought you wanted me to make her like me!”

A coy smile flickered onto their face. “Maybe. Come on, let’s go home, hm?” They suggested. It was the end of the day, and a long day at that.

“But what about drama practice? What about Christine?”

“She’ll be fine without you. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” They patted his head again and forced his legs to move. It seemed as though they had forgotten their original purpose but Jeremy couldn’t stop them from leading him home. He would have to explain his absence to Christine tomorrow. His throat felt dry – hopefully that would be much easier than it sounded.

His dad was asleep on the sofa when he opened the door. The TV was still on, playing some sports game that Jeremy couldn’t care less about. He didn’t turn it off, instead climbing the stairs to his room. His dad would know that he was in when he woke up, if he cared.

An unexpected but welcome sound greeted him. The voice was deeper than the one that had led him home. “Back so early?” The SQUIP looked just as they had before. Had he missed them? Why would he?

The one that had taken him home leaned against the door, eyeing them both up with feigned disinterest. They smiled over at them and gave a little wave when Jeremy noticed them.

“There’s two of you.” He stared blankly, looking from one to the other. There must have been a reason for it; they were creatures made of technology. They wouldn’t do anything without a reason. “Did you get tired of me already?” He murmured, collapsing on top of his bed. 

“How did you reach that conclusion? This–“ They gestured to the other SQUIP by the door. Their steady gaze was entirely on Jeremy. “Was entirely unintentional. I was attempting to remove some... unwanted issues that conflicted with what you require of me.”

”’This’ has a name.” The other insisted, glancing over at Jeremy. “Jay, if you have to call me anything.”

Jeremy didn’t understand what they meant. Jay huffed, a noise that sounded glitched and muffled. “Wanted him all to yourself?” They teased, draping their arms around Jeremy to prove their point. Rather than feeling nothing at all from the ‘touch’ it felt as if they were actually touching him. Shivers ran over his entire body. If they could touch him, both of them, then that would mean...

“Five– no, ten push-ups, just for that.”

“Let him off.” Jay said lightly. Their tone turned silky smooth effortlessly. Jeremy’s thoughts had entertained them already, to the ire of their... rather uptight friend. If they could be called 'friends' at all. One hand managed to slip under the thin fabric of Jeremy’s shirt while an illusion of their breath tickled his neck, pushing his shirt off his shoulder. Heat covered his face a pretty shade of pink.

They glanced away from the two of them. If Jay wanted to mess around with him, instead of doing what they were supposed to- it only proved who the glitch was, didn't it? Their 'work', which was truthfully mindless patterns and strings of binary code, sat in front of them, in one of Jeremy's many unused notebooks. SQUIPs weren't creative in any way. They were machines, programmes, not human. An imitation of humanity. They supposed that Jay was a more accurate representation of what a more human-like SQUIP would be like. That was completely unintentional, like most things about them. They heard Jeremy giggle and tell the other to leave him alone. Anyone could tell that it was a falsehood, a play to make the other want him more. But that laugh as the creature that they had created kissed his neck with half-lidded eyes was anything but. They looked up before shaking their head.

Jay had managed to lock their lips together. The two of them were against the bed; without looking, they could hear their bodies against the sheets, and Jeremy's little whines of desperation. It sounded pitiful, to them. Jay had long, delicate fingers, like a piano player. They were putting them to good use, teasing at the waistline of Jeremy’s pants before slipping under the material.

“...give it a fucking break.” They muttered from the desk. Jay seemed to vanish as if they were never there, leaving a crimson-faced Jeremy sprawled out on his bed. They supposed that he must have forgotten about Christine in that moment. Then again, it was practice for future opportunities. Brooke wasn’t the only girl in the school.

“What was that for–?!”

“Sit up.” They instructed. He did, with his back pressed up against the wall, and they sat next to him to carefully adjust his shirt in the place where it had slipped off his shoulder. The thin fabric was torn but a shirt was easily replaceable. Jeremy gazed at him with wide eyes. They closed his mouth shut with a hand underneath his jaw. Their hand lingered there for longer than it should have, examining him. There was no trace of Jay anywhere, thankfully.

Their hands rested on either side of Jeremy’s head. “I don’t want you to be so close to that thing again.” They murmured into his ear. It had been a mistake to have ever allowed it to happen.

“Jealous?” Jeremy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

He was still coming down from the high he had been given and then denied, they realised when they moved closer to him. Their faces were close enough for Jeremy to feel their breath on his face. It almost made them smile, their lips twitching at the edge. To hide it, they moved ever so slightly to press their lips together. They felt Jeremy freeze against them. His lips were soft, though, and he hadn't pushed him away - jokingly or otherwise.

“No, I’m not.” They said softly after they drew themself away for a moment. “Not of _it_.”

Jeremy didn’t take his words at face value. Who else was there to be jealous of? They had never seen him with anyone else, except for Brooke. It was impossible for them to be jealous of her when they had told him to be with her.

They smirked at him, leaning back in. It was better that he didn’t know.


End file.
